Home
| Databases
| WorldLII
| Search
| Feedback
Generic Top Level Domain Name (gTLD) Decisions |
Dynamic Sports
Construction, Inc. v. Beynon Sports Surfaces, Inc.
Claim Number: FA0411000366279
PARTIES
Complainant
is Dynamic Sports Construction, Inc. (“Complainant”),
represented by P. Douglas Barr, of Stoll, Keenon & Park, LLP, 300 West Vine Street, Suite 2100, Lexington, KY 40507-1801. Respondent is Beynon Sports Surfaces, Inc. (“Respondent”), represented by E. Scott Johnson, of Ober, Kaler, Grimes
and Shriver,120 East
Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21202-1643.
The
domain name at issue is <martinsurfacinginc.com>,
registered with Innerwise, Inc. d/b/a Itsyourdomain.com.
PANEL
The
undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and impartially and to
the best of his knowledge has no known conflict in
serving as Panelist in this
proceeding.
Richard
DiSalle, is the Panelist.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Complainant
submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on November
18, 2004; the National Arbitration
Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint
on November 22, 2004.
On
November 21, 2004, Innerwise, Inc. d/b/a Itsyourdomain.com confirmed by e-mail
to the National Arbitration Forum that the domain
name <martinsurfacinginc.com> is registered with Innerwise, Inc.
d/b/a Itsyourdomain.com and that the Respondent is the current registrant of
the name. Innerwise, Inc. d/b/a
Itsyourdomain.com has verified that Respondent is bound by the Innerwise, Inc.
d/b/a Itsyourdomain.com registration
agreement and has thereby agreed to
resolve domain-name disputes brought by third parties in accordance with
ICANN’s Uniform Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”).
On
November 24, 2004, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of
Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”),
setting a deadline
of December 14, 2004 by which Respondent could file a Response to the
Complaint, was transmitted to Respondent
via e-mail, post and fax, to all
entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical,
administrative and billing
contacts, and to postmaster@martinsurfacinginc.com
by e-mail.
A timely
Response was received and determined to be complete.
Additional
Submissions of both the Complainant and the Respondent were received and
considered by the panel.
Pursuant to Complainant’s request, the Forum appointed Richard DiSalle, as Panelist.
RELIEF SOUGHT
Complainant
requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
In
Complainant’s Additional Submission, the following appears: The lynchpin of Respondent’s defense is the
allegation that Southwest abandoned
the name “Martin Surfacing [Inc.],” and that Respondent, therefore, acted
properly in later reviving it and registering it as a domain
name resolving to
Respondent’s web site. Specifically,
Respondent says that, beginning in 2003, Southwest launched a marketing
campaign that shifted the focus of Southwest’s
marketing and advertising from
its numerous trade names (including “Martin Surfacing”) to one brand name, “SRI
Sports.” Respondent argues that, by
instituting its “SRI Sports” branding campaign, Southwest effectively abandoned all of its other marks,
including “Martin Surfacing,” so that anyone – including Southwest’s business
competitors – was free to claim
the abandoned
marks as their own.
This
action is outside the scope of the UDRP because a key issue (according to the
Complainant) is whether Southwest Recreational
Industries (“SRI”),
Complainant’s predecessor in interest, effectively abandoned the MARTIN
SURFACING trademark prior to Complainant’s
acquisition of interest in the
mark. See Stevenson Indus., Inc., v. CPAP-PRO Online, FA 105778 (Nat.
Arb. Forum Apr. 24, 2002); see also
Commercial Publ’g Co. v. EarthComm., Inc. FA 95013 (Nat. Arb. Forum July
20, 2000) (cases where registered domain names are subject to legitimate
disputes are relegated to
the courts).
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the
request for relief be DENIED without prejudice.
Richard DiSalle, Panelist
Dated: January 26, 2005
WorldLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/GENDND/2005/90.html